


Errand Boy

by TheGreatCatsby



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: akira appears briefly but is mentioned a bit, hinted seidou/akira, i don't know what this is it's just a drabble really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-21
Updated: 2015-03-21
Packaged: 2018-03-18 23:11:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3587586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatCatsby/pseuds/TheGreatCatsby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takizawa takes Hide out for dinner because they both don't get to talk to normal people enough.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Errand Boy

Being an investigator makes for very few friends, but the CCG's new errand boy is nice, and one day he comes by Takizawa's desk while he's having a working lunch, drops off some papers, and hums at Takizawa's choice of food. 

“Pineapples, huh? Delicious.” 

“Hide, right?” It's the first time Takizawa has remembered his name. 

“Yup.” Hide grins. “Seidou, you seem like someone with good taste in food. We should go to dinner sometime.” 

Takizawa stares at him for a moment, because aside from Amon, Akira, and his mother, he hasn't actually had dinner with someone else in a long time. Certainly not someone normal as Hide, who's just a college student with an interest in ghouls. 

It's possible that Hide has an ulterior motive. In fact, Takizawa is certain he just wants more information about the cases he's working on. 

But that's fine. Hide thinks he's cool. Takizawa likes that Hide thinks he's cool. 

“I'll pay,” Takizawa says. “You're in for a treat.” 

*

Takizawa takes Hide to his favorite restaurant which serves up delicious, spicy food for pretty cheap. The portions are large, and Hide looks childishly happy as he digs into his dinner. 

“This is better than anything I've had in awhile,” he says. “You know, poor student.” 

Takizawa doesn't know, actually, because he's spent his college years training to be an investigator. He shrugs. 

“Why are you working here?” he asks. “Really.” 

“Huh.” Hide stuffs his mouth full of more food and shrugs. “I guess...things have been getting bad in the 20th ward. My friend lives there, and I want him to be safe.” 

Takizawa recognizes the look on Hide's face. Helplessness. He remembers feeling the same way after a ghoul attacked someone on their street, and his mother became scared, and he couldn't do anything because he was just a young boy. 

Now he has a quinque and he's older and he has experience, but he still feels like that boy sometimes in the face of danger. 

“And being an errand boy will help?” he teases. 

“Well, I'm not trained to be an investigator,” Hide says. “I don't think I could.” 

“You're observant,” Takizawa says. “You'd be surprised at who can be an investigator.” He thinks of Juuzou, who is the most unconventional person he's ever met. But Juuzou's taken down more ghouls than he has. He tells himself it's not just about killing ghouls. It's also about investigating and preventing threats. Then he remembers that Akira is better than him at investigating. 

“You look thoughtful,” Hide says. 

“Yeah.” Takizawa sometimes feels like he's not cut out to be an investigator. It's the anxiety that he may be good, but he's not good enough. He's surrounded by exceptional people and he just feels average. 

Hide smiles at him. “I guess if you have enough determination you can do anything,” he says. He sounds so sure of it, too. Takizawa wishes he had that kind of certainty. 

“Determination can only get you so far.” 

Hide shrugs. “Determination got me into Kamii. I'm not the smartest, but I wanted to go to school with my best friend.” 

“He must be an amazing friend,” Takizawa says. 

Hide smiles. A little sadly. “Yeah.” 

Takizawa realizes he's hit a sore spot. “So, uh, why me? Why not Akira?” 

“She doesn't eat after dark,” Hide says, laughing. “But seriously, you're the most normal person there. You don't make me feel like a kid who's bothering the adults.” 

Takizawa laughs this time. 

“Is there something between you guys?” Hide adds, and Takizawa chokes on his food. 

“No,” he manages when he can breathe. “Why would you—what gave you—what?” 

Hide waves his hand. “I dunno, you two just seem really tense around each other and—sorry.” 

“It's a rivalry,” Takizawa says. “It's just a rivalry.” And years of resentment and admiration all rolled up into a confusing knot of emotions. 

“But you're on the same side,” Hide says. Takizawa winces. He's been told that many times by plenty of people. “I mean, you both want the same thing, right?” 

“The same thing?” Takizawa frowns. “She wants to be better than everyone. I want to prove that I'm a competent investigator.” 

“I mean, you both want people to be safe,” Hide clarifies. 

Takizawa taps his fingers on the table and thinks of his mother. “Yeah.” 

“Every investigator wants that, right?” Hide asks. He looks like he's hoping the answer will be yes. “It's not just about killing ghouls, right?” 

Takizawa sighs. Suddenly, he's not so hungry. “Every investigator doesn't want to die.” 

Hide looks at him like he's forgotten that in this war, investigators lose lives, too. 

It's something Takizawa has often wished he could forget himself. 

But later, he finds himself thinking about the other thing Hide said they all want. Keeping people safe. The reason why he joined. The reason he hasn't quit. 

That desire to protect has always overridden the desire to survive, for all of them. Everything else became unimportant in the face of that. 

*

Only one of them can stay if they have any hope of saving the others. 

Takizawa doesn't want to die, but if he'll be useful to the CCG by dying then it's not much of a choice. He's always wanted to be useful. 

“Go,” he says to Akira. “I'll keep them back.” 

He watches her leave and turns to face what could very well be his end. 

And he thinks, in this one thing, he's beaten her. He's saved Akira's life before she could save his.


End file.
